Prisoners of Terror
by CSI-Lover-87
Summary: Due to Gil's departure for teaching in another state, the wealthy Grissoms decided to get him a new slave to serve him while he is away. I highly condemn slavery. It is pure cruelty & heartlessness. WARNING: Watch Out! Dark themes are heading your way.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** This is my very first fiction. I really hope you enjoy it.

**Summary:** Due to Gil's departure to another state for a teaching position, the wealthy Grissoms decided that he would buy a new slave to serve him while he is away.

**Warning:** The more you dive into this story, the darker it is going to get due to child abuse, rape, torture, cruelty, and language. Slavery plays a major role in this story (although I highly condemn slavery), so please **do not read** if this gets you emotional or upset. This is definitely for adults/matured readers.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI. They belong to CBS.

PROLOGUE

While the Grissom household was gathered around the long rectangular dining table enjoying their fancy dinner meal, Gilbert Grissom decided to let his family know that he had been accepted for the teaching position in UNLV, that he had applied for just after receiving his PhD degree in Entomology.

"Earlier today, I had a phone call from University of Nevada, Las Vegas informing me that I have been accepted for teaching position." Gil began.

The huge, three floor-Victoria house was deathly quiet for a moment as Gil's parents and younger sister absorbed the new information.

Betty, Gil's mother, was the first who found her voice. "You're leaving San Francisco? You're leaving us?" she choked.

"Mother, we talked about this. I'm 25 years old. I can't live with you, here, forever. I am old enough to depend on myself, now." replied Gil.

"He's right, betty. Our son reached a point in his life where he would rely on himself, rather than us. You we cannot protect them forever." said Victor, then he turned and smiled at Gil. "Congratulations, Son."

Gil returned his smile. "Thank you, father."

Betty glanced at Gil. "Why do you want to go to Las Vegas, anyway? Why don't you accept a job here, in san Francisco?"

"Because the do not need any Entomology Professors, here, Mother."

"Darling, you're acting as if you're not going to see him, again. He'll be visiting us in the holidays, will you not, Gilbert?" Victor said.

"Of coarse."

At that moment, Vivian, their slave appeared with the dessert coarse. After serving it to them, her eyes dropped to the floor. "Anything else?"

"No. Leave us, now." Betty replied harshly.

"Yes, Ma'am." she said, as she started to leave.

"Thank you, Vivian." smiled Victor. He waited until Vivian disappeared, then glared at his wife. "You know, it wouldn't kill to be a little nicer to her. Just because she's a slave doesn't give you the right to treat her like she's nobody."

"Dear, she is no body." came her reply.

Father and son both looked at one another, and shook their heads, silently, in a disapproving manner.

"When will you be leaving?" finally came the voice of his sister, belle.

He turned to find a set of deep blue eyes staring at him. He reached over and brushed back the blonde strands of hair that fell over her eyes. "In six months. Are you going to miss me?"

"That depends. Do I get to have your bedroom, then?" she asked.

Gil frowned. "Yes. I think you can."

Belle's eyes lit up. "Then I'm going to miss you, terribly."

They all chuckled, except Betty. She was going to miss her son.

"Well, if you insist on leaving us, then we have to get you your own slave that will be serving you while you're away. I need to make sure that you are taken care of in Las Vegas, too. So, tomorrow, you're going to the Slave Auction House to choose your slave." ordered Betty.

"It's too early, Mother."

"Do you want me to choose for you, myself?" challenged Betty.

"Fine. I'll go tomorrow." replied Gil.

"You better do."

**A/N: **Well, you don't have to guess who happens to be the slave Gil chooses? What do you think? Please reply.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER ONE

In one of the Slave Auction house's small, old rooms, Sara sat on a chair across the window, staring at nothingness as her mind was deep in thought. She did not even notice that Jeremy, her older brother, came into the room that they both shared. He wondered what took her mind too far away that she did hear him call her name. It was when he gently nudged that she turned and saw him standing beside her.

"Penny for your thoughts." said Jeremy.

Sara sighed and looked out the window again. "Nothing."

Jeremy knelt in front of her, held her hand in one of his as he tucked a curly brown strand of hair behind her ear. "Hey, it's going to be okay." he whispered gently.

She smiled sadly at him, as she felt his own pain in spite of his effort to hide it from her. It was her eighteenth birthday and she knew that she's gonna be separated from her brother any time now. In the Slave Auction House, slaves below eighteen years old are allowed to be with any older family members only until they reach that age. After that, they are taken away from them by force to present them to the buyers in the auction. By law, however, the slave gets to be set free by the age of twenty-five, no matter how long he/she had worked for his/her masters.

Sara eyes misted at the thought being taken away from her brother. He was the only family she had left. They went through hell together. The only thing that kept them going and strong through the countless beatings and tortures they endured from their previous masters was each other. And now, Sara knew that once either of them was bought, they might never see each other again. Just the thought of that cause her unshed tears spill down her cheeks.

Jeremy gently swiped away her tears then kissed her on each cheek.

"You're going to be okay, Brownie. I know you will be just fine. I just need you to be patient and strong enough to fight your way to freedom. I'm not going to lie to you, Brownie, you have seven years of toughness and sorrow ahead of you, but they'll pass, and once they do, you'll be a free lady like any free person you see on the streets. And by that time, I'll be waiting for you to take you someplace far away, where we'll be spending the rest of our lives together." he smiled at her through his own tears now.

She reached over and swiped his tears as he did hers. "Promise?"

"Promise."

She, then, smiled her Sidle smile.

"That's my Brownie. Cheer up. A girl this beautiful shouldn't be sad. Especially, not on her birthday."

he gently kissed her on the forehead, then whispered. "Happy Birthday."

Sara pulled him to her and hugged him tight while whispering into his ear. "I love you very much."

At that moment, he pulled back and looked her in the eye. "I love you more, my sweet Brownie."

"So, did you bring me a present this year?" she asked, lighting up the situation.

"I thought you'd never ask." she laughed at his comment, as he stood up and walked to the bunk bed that he and his sister shared, which is in the corner of their small room.

A few moments later, he returned with a wrapped gift with a card that said, 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BROWNIE'. She reached for it and read the sentiment on the card, before smiling at him. She ripped open the gift wrapper to reveal a thick book that contained Shakespeare whole collection. Sara's eyes lit up immediately, and kissed each of Jeremy's cheeks before hugging him.

"I just hope Shakespeare will be enough of a companion for you during the long, lonely nights." said Jeremy.

"It will. Now, I won't be alone at night, thanks to you." replied Sara. "I'll remember you every night when I read."

He smiled. "And I'll remember you every minute of each day until we meet again." he kissed her forehead again. "You just take good care of yourself."

"I will. You too."

"I will, for you, Brownie. I will."

Suddenly, the door burst open as three muscular men entered the room and without a word the bound the Sidle's hands behind their backs, which caused the book slip from Sara's hands, and dragged them out the door.

"Come on, Sidles. Get moving. A wealthy young man wants to buy one of you, slaves, so don't keep him waiting." one of the men said.

The men continued to drag them to the 'Presenting Room'. As they reached inside, they were ordered kneel on their knees and bend their heads along with the other slaves that were already waiting as they waited for the man from the wealthy family to enter the front door and chooses one of the many slaves that were kneeling in front of him.

**A/N: **I need some reviews, please. All reviews are welcomed, both the good and the bad. I also need to know if I should continue. Thank you for your reviews.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER TWO

Gil parked his Royal Black Bentley in the Slave Auction House's VIP gate as he accepted the valet parking service and got out of the car. He glanced at the words 'THE SLAVE AUCTION HOUSE' that were attached to the building he was about to enter, and shook his head as he tried to imagine the hell they went and going to go through. _They must feel humiliated and unworthy of anything, and yet they cannot do anything about it. If they did, they would be punished for it. They would be punished physically and emotionally for just trying to defend themselves. They just obey and do whatever their told, otherwise, the penalty would be severe. How unfairly this damn world treats them. _Gil's jaw twitched and his hands closed to fists as he thought about how cruel life could be to some people. He took a deep breath, and prepared himself for cruelty he was about to witness.

He walked through the the main entrance only to have the door open for him by one of the workers. Gil was greeted warmly by the manager, who was waiting for his arrival to escort him to the presenting room, where he would choose his slave.

As Gil entered the room, he found about ten slaves kneeling before him on the floor with bent heads. He passed each one slowly, examining them until he reached to the seventh one in line. He stopped abruptly and turned to look at her intently. Placing his hand under her chin, Gil lifted her face to look into her eyes. Once their eyes met, Gil immediately felt something he never felt before. At that moment, he felt as if something inside him had been awakened. No one ever made him feel that way before. _She is beyond beautiful. Those chocolate brown orbs are more beautiful than anything I ever saw or I will ever see. _

Also, he immediately recognized the great sorrow behind the very eyes that took his breath away. It pained him to see such beauty consumed in such sorrow. The pain and sadness buried within her was so intense that he almost felt it. It made his heart ache. It took every ounce of strength to fight the urge to hold her and comfort her. Instead, he found himself caressing her cheek gently, until he realized that he was losing his composure. He, then, quickly composed but still kept his hand under her chin in order to force her to meet his gaze. From that moment, he knew that she was his. She was the one he wanted. The one and only. He would pay any price for her. To have her. Even if it was for just a few years. Until she was set free by the law, Gil would not let her go. He knew that for certain.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Sara Sidle." she answered.

Her was like music to his ears. _My Sara. _He did not know her, and he already fell in love with her. _Wait, is that love? What she had awakened in me? _Suddenly he felt the need to protect her, make her feel safe at any cost. He never felt anything like that towards anyone before.

"Good choice. She's brand new." commented the manager.

Gil turned to face him with a confused look on his face.

The manager, then, clarified. "She just turned eighteen today."

Gil turned back to her. _Just a child._ Then, he turned to manager again. "How much?"

The manager looked briefly at the papers in his hand before replying. "Number 5950. $ 90,000."

Without another word, Gil pulled his check book out of his vest inner pocket of the Armani dark-grey suite he was wearing along with a gold Cartier fountain pen. He wrote the check and handed it to him.

The manager was surprised at how easy Gil gave in. He had expected some sort of argument to occur to lower the price, since the price was too high. "She's yours, now. Congratulations." smiled the manager as he motioned for one of the muscular men.

Instantly, the man was heading for Sara to grab her frail body an took her back to her room to pack. She looked at her brother, Jeremy, as tears slipped down her cheeks.

He tried to comfort her as best as he can while his hands was tied behind his back. He whispered to her.

"It's going to be alright, Brownie. Remember our promise? We will meet again."

"I love you, Jeremy. I going to miss you dearly." said Sara as she was being pushed out of the room by the muscular man.

"Me too, Brownie." said Jeremy before she disappeared into the hall. He felt his tears run down his cheeks as he prayed for his baby sister to be safe.

Gil saw the interaction between brother and sister, and suddenly felt guilty for separating them and for a moment, he thought about choosing another slave instead just to let them be together, but he knew that if he did not have her, someone else will. And, that someone most likely is going to be cruel to her. He would not let that happen. _This is the only way to protect her. I can't bear the thought of someone __hurting my Sara. _He smiled at the thought of Sara was his.

A few moments later, the manager came close to Gil and whispered. "I would have sold her to you for half the price if you just asked."

"And I would have bought her from you for double the price if you just asked." Gil replied.

**A/N:** Thanks, everyone, for your reviews. I'm glad you're enjoying it. Next chapter will be posted as soon as possible :)


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER THREE

Sara sat at the back seat while Gil drove the Bentley. Most of the drive to his house was spent in silence. Through the rear-view mirror, Gil caught Sara swiping at her tears silently as she stared out the car window.

She tightly clutched the small bag on her lap that carried what little things she owned as if it contained diamonds. To her, that small bag held her life. Aside from the few old wardrobe and toiletries, the bag held some precious memories of her with Jeremy, like a few photos of them together and the Shakespeare book he gave her on her birthday. That bag simply carried what would keep her going for the next seven years.

Gil's heart ache at the sight of her silent tears. He wanted her pain to go away, but knew that would take time. She had just been taken away from the only family she ever knew. So the pain was fresh. She needed time to get used to the new life that was waiting for her. After that, the pain would fade gradually.

Gil tried to take her mind off the sadness and pain that he knew was consuming it. So he started a conversation. Anything to calm the fear that was evident she was experiencing silently. Anything. Even if it was for a few seconds.

"I heard today is your birthday." Gil began.

"Y-Yes, Sir." he heard her fear filled voice, and at that very moment he longed to hold her and tell her that everything was going to be okay, but he fought the urge. Again.

"Gil. Call me Gil." he ordered softly while smiling at her through the rear view mirror.

"Yes, Si- Yes, Gil."

Gil gasped at the sensation his body received when he heard his name coming out of her lips. He could not explain it. It was a feeling that he never experienced before this very moment. He felt the need to hold her, kiss her, feel her, love her. _Wow. No one ever made me feel this way before. What is it in this girl that is different from all the others I met before? She's just a slave. My slave, and yet she's the only one who found a way to enter my heart. The heart that I locked and hid it safely behind the exterior mask I wear that shows no emotions. _Gil hid his heart for fear that someone might break it one day, and he's just not sure if he could survive such pain. And right before this moment, he was entirely certain that he had his heart securely protected and out of reach of everyone. Now, he was going to reconsider.

Gil pushed those thoughts aside for now as he parked his Bentley in front of the huge Victorian house.

Once they stepped inside, Gil and Sara came across with Victor, Betty, and Belle, who were enjoying their tea in the living room.

As she saw them enter the house, Betty immediately left her spot on the luxury sofa and came to stand directly in front of Sara.

Betty examined Sara carefully while Sara kept her eyes on the floor. Betty then lifted Sara's face by placing her fingers her chin forcefully, so she could get a better look at her son's choice.

She let go of Sara's chin and turned to her son. "How much?"

"Ninety thousand." Betty couldn't believe her own ears.

"Ninety?" yelled Betty as she glared at him. "You spent ninety thousand dollars for a slave?"

"She was the only one I liked at the Auction House, Mother. I have the right to choose the one that's going to serve me for the years to come. And besides, you never gave me a price limit for buying one." Gil replied as he intentionally avoided using the word 'slave' so he would not hurt Sara's feelings any further.

Betty started to argue, but then stopped when she realized that it was pointless. Although she hated to admit it, she knew her son was right. She never gave him a price limit. So, she let it drop while turning back to Sara, whose eyes was still kept on the floor.

"What's your name?" she asked harshly.

"Sara Sidle."

"How old are you?" asked Betty with the same harsh tone.

"Eighteen, Ma'am."

"In six months, my son who is your master will be leaving to Las Vegas for a teaching position that was offered to him, so you are bought to go with him and serve him while he's there. But until then, you will be helping Vivian, our other slave, with the house chores. Daily, you will be up at 5:30 am to help Vivian preparing breakfast, along with the other chores throughout the day, and go to bed at 10:00 pm, unless any of your masters asks you otherwise, because you will be taking orders from anyone in this houes also, except Vivian, of course. Do I make myself clear?" she glared.

"Yes, Ma'am." replied Sara in a low, feared voice.

"Good. You better be worth the fortune we spent on you."

When betty was about to turn and head back to her spot on the sofa, something caught her eye. And in one swift movement, Betty pulled the clutched bag out of Sara's hands forcefully before she could react. Sara's heart thudded inside her chest and fear engulfed her as the bag was taken from her.

"What's inside?"

Gil's jaw twitched in anger as he glared at his mother. _She has no right to do that. It's none of her damn business what Sara kept in that bag._

"Just a few things that I own, Ma'am."

"I'll take a look anyway." said Betty.

"Betty, give the poor thing her bag back." came Victor's voice, finally.

"Not before I see what's inside. I'm not going to take anything. I just want to make to make sure that she doesn't steal anything from this house, and claim that it's hers when she's set free by the law." Betty said rudely as she dropped all the contents of the bag on the floor, checking each item carefully before motioning for Sara to pick up her things and put them back in her bag.

Sara was on her knees instantly, collecting her stuff and throwing them back in the small bag of hers.

While she was in the process of picking up her belongings off the floor, a particular item caught Gil's attention immediately. _Is that a shakespeare poetry book? She reads Shakespeare as well. _He smiled at the first common thing between them he discovered. Gil was a huge fan of shakespeare.

Betty went back to the sofa and continued sipping her tea as she hollered for Vivian, who came rushing into the living room.

"Yes, Ma'am?"

"Show, what's her name, the room she'll be staying in." ordered Betty as she motioned for them to go without even looking in their direction.

"Yes,Ma'am." she escorted Sara out of the living room after she finished picking up her belongings and stuffing them into her bag.

Gil, then, made his way to the sofa and sat beside belle.

"You can't treat them like that, Mother. They are human beings with feelings just like any of us. They get wounded when someone treats them as if they are nothing like you do." fumed Gil.

"Gil, they are nothing. They are born so we could treat them that way." said Betty calmly and continued enjoying her cup of tea.

_You're always so cruel to them. You never consider their feelings. You step on them as if they are insects. How could your heart be so cold, Mother?_ He thought as he got off the couch and went to his room without another word.

Victor just turned to his wife and glared at her. He didn't even try to argue because he knew that argument would not change anything in her.

**A/N: Thank you all for your great reviews. Hope you like where this story is heading. Next chapter is on its way :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**WARNING: **This chapter contains dark stuff. Rape and abuse will be mentioned. You've been warned.

CHARTER FOUR

During her first night at the Grissoms, Sara felt lonely and scared. She was given a small room that was barely enough for a mattress, which was placed on the floor, and a chest a dresser. She and Vivian shared a small bathroom at the end of the hall.

Sara and Vivian's rooms were located at the opposite hallway from the one that contained the masters' rooms.

Sara left her bedroom door ajar, allowing some of the hallway light to enter. Sara had Achluophobia.

Darkness is one of her greatest fears, along with many other things.

Time seemed frozen as it was only 10:30pm. She was in bed since 10:00pm, but those thirty minutes felt like forever as she kept turning from side to side unable to sleep.

She gave up and grabbed her Shakespeare book. She opened it to the first page and began to read softly.

Gil planned on heading to his room after ascending the stairs, but stopped dead in his tracks when he heard the faint voice coming from the opposite hallway. He turned to the opposite direction and headed for the other hallway. As he approached the source of the voice, he recognized it instantly. He would recognize that voice anywhere. It was the same voice that made him feel alive again.

Gil kept approaching her bedroom until he reached the ajar door and peeked inside through the small opening.

As soon as he recognized the words that came out of her lips, he felt an immediate relaxation wash over his stressed and exhausted body. He was amazed at the soothing effect her voice had on his drained body.

Gil closed his eyes and recited with her what he learned by heart of Shakespeare's words over the years. Gil spent many years memorizing as many poems of Shakespeare's as he could. Shakespeare's words were his only companion in the past several lonely years. Gil was never good with people or interaction. He was always finding it difficult to express his feelings to anyone. Whenever Gil sought solace, however, Shakespeare's words were always there to provide it. They warmed his heart and soul whenever he felt cold and lonely. For many years, they were enough to get Gil through anything. Until that day. The day he laid eyes on Sara for the very first time. After that day, Shakespeare no longer had that effect on him. Shakespeare's words were no longer Gil's companion, nor did they give him solace and warmth. Someone else took their place. Someone who turned his life upside down. Someone who took his breath away at the very first sight.

Gil, then, opened his eyes again when she stopped reading and peeked once more as she yawned while closing the book. She marked the page with a photo of her and Jeremy that she used as a book mark. She glanced at it and smiled before tucking it between the pages. _We've been apart for just few hours and I already miss you. I'm not sure if I can survive without you seven years, Jeremy. I just pray that you're taking good care of yourself. I love you, dearly. _She closed her eyes to keep the tears from falling.

Sara turned her head toward the door, then stood up quickly when she saw Gil push the door gently."Yes, Sir? Do you need something?" she asked, fearful that she might had forgotten to do something he specifically asked her to do.

Gil quickly smiled at her to reassure her that there was nothing wrong. She dropped her eyes to the floor again.

"Gil, the name is Gil."

"Yes, Gil." she said as he smiled at her again, encouraging her to use his given name.

Gil never really liked his name until now. Not before it was uttered from her lips. Now he felt that he had the most beautiful name in the world.

Gil took a step forward so their faces would be mere inches from each other.

"Look at me." he ordered softly.

Sara did what he asked her to do as chocolate brown orbs met deep blue.

"I don't want you looking at the floor when we talk. I want you to look me straight in the eyes. Can you do that, Sara?"

"Yes, Si-Yes, Gil." she said as she looked him straight in the eyes.

He smiled at her. "Much better."

she returned the smile. It was the first time he ever saw her smile. It was something words cannot describe. At that moment, Gil felt like he owned the universe.

It took all of his energy to resist the urge to lean forward and kiss her passionately. _If only I can kiss her, hold her, make love to her without repercussions. Of all the fine ladies in the world, and my heart chooses a slave. This slave. What's does she have that all the other women in the world lack? Why can't I focus on anything but her whenever I am around her? Only her? Stupid heart._

Gil found himself caressing her cheek again. "Are you going to sleep right now?"

"I don't think I'll be able to. Not before an hour at least." she answered.

"Then, do you mind if we talked for a little while? You know, get to know each other."

"Okay." she replied.

He smiled. "Good, but not here. Let's go to my bedroom, where there's enough space for at least two people." he joked.

Gil took Sara's hand and led her to hi bedroom then closed the door behind them gently. Gil took off his shoes and headed over to his dresser, grabbing a light t-shirt and a pair of shorts before going to the bathroom. He came out a minute later in shorts and a shirt.

Sara stood nervously in the middle of the room, not sure where she should be. Gil silently took her hand in his while leading her to his bed. He felt her body tense immediately, so he reassured her that he would not hurt her. He would never hurt Sara. His Sara. He smiled at the thought as he and Sara sat on the king size bed.

Gil noticed the tearing on few areas of her night dress but acted as though he didn't, so he would not embarrass her.

"How did you and your brother end up at the Auction House?" he intentionally left out the word 'slave'.

"My mother died while she was giving birth to me. My father was badly devastated by her death. So, our neighbor, Mrs. Carter offered to take care of me and Jeremy, my brother, since my father was in no condition to care for a new born and a three-year old. She was a kind old lady. She didn't have any children and her husband passed away a couple of years prior to my mother's. Mrs. Carter practically raised us as if we were her own while our father was next door, keeping himself busy by drinking day and night. He seemed always drunk. Mrs. Carter took us in and raised us, while no one else wanted us. She loved us truly. But even that did not last very long. Mrs. Carter died when I was seven. Then, our farther took us back to live with him again. And, that's when hell started. He was an abusive alcoholic. He used to beat us without any reason. Most of the beatings were directed to me. He blamed me for my mother's death. He told me that I wasn't even supposed to be conceived, and that I was a mistake all along and that mistake had cost him Laura, my mother. He said he would always hate me for that. He also said that if I haven't entered this world, my mother would still be alive." she stopped for a moment to wipe away the tears that kept racing down her cheeks.

Gil was shocked at the painful childhood she had endured. He needed to know if she blamed herself for her mother's death as well. "Do you believe that?"

"It's true." her answer angered him as he looked her in the eyes.

"That's bullshit. Don't you ever believe any of that. It's all crap." Gil did not even notice that his voice raised.

He took a deep breath to calm himself before softly explaining to her. "You're not a mistake Sara, but a gift from God. Don't you ever think for a single second that you're responsible for your mother's death. It was simply her day to die, Sara. She would have been dead that day whether you were born or not. Everyone is going to die one day. It is the cycle of life. When a life ends, another one begins. So, don't you ever let those sick thoughts your cruel father put them into your head make you forget what I just said. Sara, you need to believe what I am telling you. Can you do that?"

Sara nodded.

"Good." he said as he wiped her tears away.

Sara took a deep breath before continuing. "It's when he got really drunk at night scared me the most. It was my third night at my father's house when he came to my room and sat on top of me on the bed. At first, I thought he was going to hit me again so I just held still and braced myself. But then he started binding my wrists to the bedpost. That's when I started to panic although I had no idea what he was about to do to me, but the thought of me being restrained freaked me out. He tried to sooth me while I was panicking because he feared that I would wake Jeremy, who was sleeping in the next room, and he would come into my room and find him on top of me. His soothing didn't work and I started sobbing, so he gagged my mouth with a piece of cloth to muffle the cries. I tried to struggle when I felt him pulling down my pajama pants. I even tried to kick him away but he had his full weight on my legs. The next thing I knew, I was screaming through the gag as I felt a sharp pain when he... my virginity was taken from me by my own father." she closed her eyes as if the pain from the memory hurt her physically.

By that time, Gil was dumbstruck. He tried to find some words to sooth her pain, but none found. _Hell, there are no words that would sooth the agony she endured by the hands of that monster._ Gil wanted to kill her father with his bare hands.

Before he could find the words, Sara looked into his deep blue eyes as she continued. "While he was...inside me...he kept whispering to me that he hated me, yet he wanted me because I reminded him of my mother. I look a lot like her. And, once he got his pleasure and was done with me, he pulls out and realize what he had done. Then he would detach his belt from his pants while saying that I must be punished for the way I made him feel towards me. After that, he would strike me with the belt over and over until I lose consciousness. I would wake up the next morning to find the gag and restraints no longer on me, and for a moment I kept thinking maybe it's just a nightmare until I see the large bruises that covered most of my body and realize it wasn't a nightmare, but a reality that was worse." she finished as she took a deep breath.

Gil could not believe his ears.

After Gil's brain absorbed the new information, he asked her. "How many times did that sick bastard rape you?" he didn't seem to care that he used such language to describe her father.

"It kept going every night for a whole year until he became a drug addict and needed money so badly for the drugs. That's when he sold us to the Slave Auction House." she explained.

_What kind of a father would sexually and physically abuse his own flesh and blood, then sells them to be slaves so he could get himself pleasure. _Gil fought the urge to track that bastard down and put a bullet in his head.

As if she read his thoughts, she notified him that John, her father, had died of an overdose a year after he sold them.

Gil was thrilled inwardly when he heard that information. A monster like john didn't deserve to have a life.

"I'm glad you trusted me enough to tell me what you've been through. It must be difficult for you to relive it. I am grateful that you let me in."

Sara responded with a smile.

Without another word, Gil pulled her closer to him and she rested her head on his shoulder. It was the best feeling he ever experienced. Gil reached for his Shakespeare book on his bedside table. It caught her attention instantly as she noticed that it was just like the one she had. Gil smiled as he caught her surprise.

"I'm a huge fan of his work. In fact, I have known several of his poems by heart."

"Really? Can you recite one from memorization?" she asked.

He grinned and returned the book back as he recited. His soothing voice lulled her to sleep immediately. Gil knew she was asleep by the sound of her even breathing. He carried her in his arms while he quietly walked down the hall to her room and placed her on the mattress, pulled up the covers, and kissed her gently on her forehead before going back to his room.

**A/N:** Hope you liked it. Next chapter will be posted as soon as possible. And thank you for your great reviews :)


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER FIVE

Three months later: 

Ever since the night Sara confided in Gil about her painful past, it had been a routine for them to chat every night for an hour or so, after Sara was allowed to go to bed. They would talk about anything and everything. Sometimes they talked in Gil's bedroom, other times in Sara's. They usually read shakespeare to each other before they say 'goodnight' and head to their rooms.

Gil and Sara were in Gil's room, on Gil's bed while he fell asleep in the middle of a Shakespeare poem Sara was reading. His head was resting on Sara's lap. Her soothing voice accompanied with the smoothness of her thigh, which he used as a pillow, lulled him to sleep immediately. Sara looked down at his sleeping form before closing the book and putting it back to its place.

She gently stroked his hair with her fingers. _If only I can admit my feelings to you. If only I can tell you how much I love you. I love you, Gil. I think I loved you forever. But it does not matter, Sara, no matter how much you love him, he doesn't and won't love you the way you do him. You're just a slave. His slave. He is really kind with me, but that does not mean that he loves me. Why would a wealthy, handsome guy like him want someone like me? I need to detach myself from the feelings I have towards him. I'm just here to serve him, to obey his orders and nothing more. And in less than seven years from now, I'll be gone and I might never see you again. There is nothing ever going to happen between us. _Quickly,she wiped the tears that were falling before lifting his head gently and placing it on the comfortable pillow. She kissed his forehead before placing the covers on him, turned off the lamp, and headed back to her room as quiet as possible.

The next day, while Sara was assisting Vivian to prepare breakfast for their masters, a door in the kitchen leading to somewhere caught her attention. Sara was surprised she didn't recognize it earlier in the last three months. But, the door was painted the same color as the kitchen walls, so it was easy to miss.

"Where does that door lead to?" she pointed to camouflaged door she just noticed.

Vivian turned to look at the direction Sara was pointing. "Oh, it leads to the basement, where the 'Punishing Chamber' is."

"Punishing Chamber? What for?"

"You never heard of a 'Punishing Chamber'? Every wealthy family has a 'Punishing Chamber' somewhere in their home. It is for punishing their slaves if they ever did anything severely wrong or committed a crime, such as stealing or hitting their masters. That chamber has several torturing tools. It contains wall and ceiling chains, whips, burning irons, and several other stuff."

Sara looked terrified.

"Don't be scared. Just don't do anything extremely stupid, and you have nothing to worry about." reassured Vivian.

"I won't." Sara replied before hesitantly asking. "Were you ever been punished for anything?"

"Yes. I was accused a couple of years ago for trying to escape, but I never did. I just was depressed and I needed fresh air, so I went to the garden but I lost track of time. Then, when they searched for me and didn't find me, they thought that I escaped. Afterwards, Ma'am Betty spotted me sitting on the garden grass. I was deep in thought that I did not see or hear her coming. I was thinking about my family and how much I missed them. The next thing I knew, I was being pulled to my feet roughly by her as she called out for the two house boys and when they reached us, she told them that I was trying to escape and I must be punished for that. So, she ordered them to take me to the 'Punishing Chamber', and bind me to the wall by the wall chains while I get burn marked by the glowing, red hot metal." Vivian lifted her dress to show Sara the burn mark on her lower back.

Sara gasped in fear when she saw the large burn mark on Vivian's back. "Did you explain to them that you weren't intending to escape?"

"Yes, but no one believed me. They said that I was making that story up to save myself from the punishment." Vivian replied sadly.

"Oh my God. I'm so sorry, Vivian." said Sara sympathetically.

Vivian just smiled at Sara in response.

In their room, Betty and Victor were sitting around a coffee table beside the window while sipping on their morning coffee. Victor was engrossed in his morning paper while Betty was deep in thought. The interaction between her son and Sara did not go unnoticed on her. She had seen the look of effection her son carried for his slave. It worried that he might fall in love with Sara.

Betty mentally blamed Sara for making her son posses those feelings for her. In fact, she hated Sara for that. So, she was deeply thinking of ways to get back at Sara. _I cannot let my only son fall in love with a slave. And not just any slave, but his own slave. What will our high class friends and neighbors say? I will do everything in my power to stop this from happening. I will break her in every possible way. I have to. I'll make her look in his eyes as ugly as possible. I'll also make sure that he gets distrustful of her. How could anyone love a person that could not be trusted. _Betty smiled at the thought.

Victor caught her smiling. "You look happy. Is there a reason for that?"

Betty looked at her husband with the same smile still lingering on her lips. "I just found a way to put my worries at ease, Darling."

Victor gave her a confused look.

"It's nothing with great importance. Don't get your mind busy about such little things, Sweetheart." Betty said simply.

Victor just let it go.

A few days later, Betty saw Sara enter the bathroom and she thought that that would be the perfect opportunity to have her revenge. While the whole house was out except her and Gil, who was napping, and soon, she also would be heading out to visit a friend of hers, there would be no one to save her when she freaks out. Betty smiled to herself as she imagined Sara crying hysterically for help.

Her plan was to lock the bathroom door from the outside while Sara's inside since the key was in her possession because slaves were not allowed to lock the bathrooms or bedrooms on themselves. The reason to that is to prevent suicidal attempts because many slaves commit suicide in bathrooms or bedrooms while they were locked on them.

Also, she would turn off the lights since the switch was on the outside wall. Sara was going to be trapped in a bathroom that has no windows, which means it was going to be pitch black, while there would be no way out as she frantically screams for help. _And the best part is that no matter how hard she yells for help, there would be no one to rescue her. _Betty was satisfied with the thought.

As Betty approached the bathroom, she heard water running and knew that Sara was washing her hands, which means she got to hurry before Sara got out of the bathroom. So, she quickened her pace until she reached the bathroom closed door. Without hesitation, she locked the door from the outside before turning the lights off as well.

Inside the bathroom, Sara just finished washing her hands and was about to wipe them with the hanged towel when she heard the bathroom door lock and the lights turned off. She panicked immediately. She tried pushing down the door handle, but the door wouldn't budge. Fear engulfed her at that moment. She started banging on the hard wood door frantically as she, desperately, yelled for help.

On the other side of the door, Betty smiled as she heard the fear in Sara's voice before taking off to her destination.

Sara continued to bang on the door. "Please open the door. I'm in here, please." she begged as she began to sob.

She banged harder as she sobbed hysterically when she heard no response coming from the other side of the door. "Someone get me out of here, please. I'm scared."

In his room, Gil's urgent need to the bathroom woke him up. He went to his bathroom and was done in a few minutes. After that, he decided to head to the kitchen for a light snack. As soon as he opened his bedroom door and stepped into the hallway, he stopped dead in his tracks. He heard Sara's desperate pleas for help and her frantic banging on the door. The terror was evident in her voice as she sobbed.

Without wasting another second, Gil ran to the bathroom door and unlocked it. As soon as he opened the door, she ran out from the dark bathroom as Gil's strong arms caught her and she fell into them. He wrapped his arms around her frail body that shook uncontrollably by heart aching sobs.

Gil rocked her back and forth as an attempt to ease the terror he saw in her eyes while whispering some soothing words in her ear. "Shh, it's okay. You're safe now. It's going to alright."

A few minutes later, her sobs turned into hiccups. He continued to rock her in his arms until she quieted completely and her breathing became normal.

Gil carried her to his bedroom and placed her on his bed. Sara sat there quietly, watching him as he made his way to his nightstand and poured some water from a jug into a glass before handing it to her. Softly, he ordered her to drink some of it.

The trembling in her hands did not go unnoticed to Gil when she lifted the glass to her lips. After taking a few sips, it was obvious to Gil that she was done, so he took the glass from her still shaking hands and put it back on his nightstand before returning to the bed and sitting in front of her.

"Who did that to you?" Gil fumed inwardly.

"I-I don't know." sniffled Sara.

_Yes, you do._ Gil did not believe , Gil realized that the house was quiet. "Where is everybody?"

"Your father took your sister and Vivian to the market to get some groceries, and your mother went to visit her friend.

Gil knew that it was his mother who trapped Sara in the dark bathroom. He also knew how much his mother disliked her. What he did not know was why. "Was my mother here when you were locked up in the bathroom?" he looked her carefully.

_YES. She was the one who locked me in that damn bathroom for God knows how long._ Sara screamed inwardly. "N-No." lied Sara again as she refused to meet his eyes.

Gil lifted her face gently, so he could force her to look into his eyes. "I know you're scared, but that does not make it okay to lie." he said quietly, letting go of her chin.

"Do you trust me, Sara?"

Sara's eyes looked at his instantly. "Yes." she answered without hesitation whatsoever.

"Then, don't ever lie to me because I would never hurt you. Understand?" he looked her intently in the eyes.

"Yes." she replied as a small smile crept her lips.

He smiled back at her.

After a few minutes of silence, Gil hesitated. "Why are you so afraid of the dark, Sara?"

She looked at him when she replied. "Because that was what my father used to do to me whenever I did something wrong. He used to grab me while dragging me to a dark bathroom and locks the door from the outside. I used to beg and scream as I bang on the door for hours to let me out before exhaustion overtakes me, and I fall asleep on the cold floor.

Gil sat there, blinking. He had never thought that her reply would be carrying so much pain. He fumed at her cruel father, again. _That bastard was so lucky that he died before I met him. Death was just too good for him._

"I'm so sorry, Sara." he apologized for making her remember her painful past again.

"Don't be. You never hurt me, he did."

Gil just held her hand and squeezed it slightly for comfort.

Sara responded by smiling at him.

**A/N: **What do you think? Hope you enjoyed it so far. **And, I really want to thank all those who emailed me the fantastic reviews and added me to their favorite list or story alerts. I really appreciate all the support I got from you Guys, as it was what kept me going :) **


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **I apologize for the late update guys, but the exams kept getting in the way. And, thank you all again for the wonderful reviews :)

**WARNING: **This chapter contains torture so it is going to be a dark one. If you are uncomfortable with such themes, then please **do not read**.

CHAPTER SIX

Two months later:

Gil was in his room, reading an entomology book while enjoying his mid-morning tea. Then all of a sudden, his bedroom door burst open as a furious Betty entered before slamming the door shut behind her. Gil suddenly got to his feet and made his way towards her with a mixture of confusion and worrisome on his face.

"What's wrong, Mother?"

"My diamond necklace is stolen."

"What?" Gil was utterly shocked.

"Yes. As you know, I'm invited to a dinner party tonight and when I was preparing which jewels I would wear, and that's when I realized my Cartier necklace is missing." she said, anger dripping from her words.

"Who would steal your jewelry?" he asked in confusion.

"Who do you think?"

"If you are insinuating that one of the slaves did it, I don't think so. Neither one of them is stupid enough to steal something as valuable because they would know how severe the punishment that they're going to receive if we searched their rooms and found it there." he stated logically.

"Well, maybe one of them thought I would not notice." she said. Betty felt her son struggling to believe her reasoning so she pushed. "Come on, let's go search their bedrooms." she started to walk out when she noticed that Gil did not follow her. Then she turned to face her son again, and saw the worry on his face which made her more furious. "You know, I wouldn't even come to you in the first place if your father was not out of the state on a business trip. Your heart is too soft for your own good. I knew you wouldn't get me satisfied, but you are the only man here right now. You are supposed to be the man of the house while your father is away so act like it, and come help me find the thief who stole my $100,000 diamond necklace." she snapped.

So Gil reluctantly followed his mother out of his bedroom.

In the kitchen, Sara was washing the dishes while Vivian was cooking lunch. That's when Betty barged in with Gil in toe. Both Sara and Vivian stopped what they were doing and faced them, waiting for orders. Gil eyes were dropped to the floor as he stood quietly behind his mother when she announced about her missing necklace.

"I have a diamond necklace that happens to be missing, do either of you know where it is?" accused Betty.

"No Ma'am." Sara and Vivian answered in unison.

"So you wouldn't mind if I searched your rooms, would you?"

Both slaves agreed.

"Alright, then." said Betty as she got out of the kitchen after ordering all of them, including Gil, to follow her.

Once they reached upstairs and went towards the the slaves' hallway, Betty stopped in front of Vivian's bedroom door, wanting to search it first. She turned and faced the two slaves as she ordered them to stay out of the room while she searched it. Then she ordered Gil to follow her into the room and help her search her Cartier necklace, but he refused, telling her that he would wait outside the room as well as she searched through it. That earned him a deathly glare from his mother, causing him to shift slightly from foot to foot before she simply turned around and entered the room by herself.

A few minutes later, Betty got out, shaking her head.

"There's nothing there." she said, and without another word, she entered Sara's room as the others waited outside again.

A couple of minutes had past before a loud gasp was heard from inside the room, which caught Gil's attention instantly. He did not want to know what caused that reaction from his mother. His gut told him that it was definitely not good. For a moment there, he actually thought of fleeing the hallway and get out of the house. But before he could react, Betty got out of Sara's room with the expensive necklace in her hand. At first, Gil was so sure that his eyes were playing tricks on him because he could not believe them. He couldn't believe what he was seeing as he stared at the object in his mother's palm with his his jaw dropping to the floor. Suddenly his heart sank as he looked over at Sara who was looking as stunned as he was. Her eyes were wide with confusion and fear as she shook her head adamantly.

"You filthy, little thief. How dare you steal from us?" Betty shrieked at her with all her might as pure rage showed in her eyes, which caused Sara to tremble.

"No, I didn't steal anything. I don't know how it got there, I swear to God." fear evident in her trembling voice as her eyes filled with tears.

"Don't you dare lie to me, you whore. I found it in your sleep-ware drawer among your disgusting, torn sleep gowns. So if you did not steal it as you claim, then how the hell did it get in your room, more specifically in your sleep-ware drawer? Care to explain that, you little twit?" Betty continued to shriek at Sara.

Unable to hold her tears any longer, Sara whispered faintly. "I don't know." she turned and looked at Gil, her teary eyes pleading for him to believe her. "I never even saw that necklace before. I swear."

Gil just kept staring at her. His body too numb with shock to say anything.

"Whether you keep denying or not, you are going to receive your punishment. You are going to be taught a lesson. A lesson that you will never forget. So before you steal again next time, you'll think twice." said Betty before yelling for the two house boys. "Billy? George?"

In a few seconds, both house boys ascended the stairs and stood a few feet from them. They were two tall, masculine men. Once they arrived, betty ordered them to drag Sara to the 'Punishing Chamber'. Without hesitation, each man took a strong hold of one of Sara's arms and dragged her forcefully.

Sara started to beg and scream as she was being pulled. "No, please. I didn't do it. Please believe me. I didn't do anything." she begged as she looked at Gil's doubtful eyes.

Gil just stood there, frozen in his tracks from the utter shock that gripped at his heart tightly.

Betty just smiled as she saw the scene in front of her. Her satisfaction was beyond what she anticipated. The doubt in her son's eyes towards Sara spoke volumes, and that was exactly what she wanted. Her plan was working incredibly. Her son would soon distrust his slave if he had not already. She couldn't keep the smile from her lips as she followed the house boys to the 'Punishing Chamber', where they were dragging Sara to.

Betty suddenly stopped as she passed Gil and took in his distressed features. She stroked his bearded face gently to comfort him. "Come on, Son. Watch her get hurt just like she hurt you. I'll break her for you, my dear boy, exactly like she broke your heart. Your fragile heart." she said in a quiet, soft motherly voice. She held his hand and started to lead him to the 'Punishing Chamber' before he had a chance to respond.

Later that evening, Gil was lying on his bed on top of the covers. He just stared blankly at nothing in particular as his brain tried to wrap itself around the events of that morning. But no matter how hard he tried, his brain simply couldn't fathom what had transpired. Something felt off in spite of the evidence that was found in Sara's room. Deep down his heart, Gil did not think that Sara stole the Cartier diamonds. _Don't get fooled Gil, people lie but the evidence never does. _He reminded himself. _Unless it was tampered with to frame someone._ Gil shook his head as he quickly pushed that thought away from his mind. He couldn't think of anyone would be low enough to do that to Sara. To frame such an innocent young girl like that. Gil sighed as he vividly remembered the sight of Sara being punished as though he could see it replaying in front of his very eyes. So he just closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he relived the horrible ordeal she had went through just a few hours ago.

_Sara's wrists were bound by the chains that hung from the ceiling of the 'Punishing Chamber' as her face was covered with the uncontrollable tears. Her body was raking with heart breaking sobs. Her eyes pleading with her to believe her, but all that she saw were cold ones staring back at her. At that moment, she lost all hope and her eyes carried such anguish he had never seen before as she suddenly stopped struggling. Yet, he could do nothing as he kept staring at her red rimmed eyes._

"_What kind of punishment would you prefer, Ma'am?" asked George._

_Betty made towards a table consists of various torturing items that was placed in the corner of the __chamber. It took her a moment as she carefully chose the perfect item to use on Sara. With a wide smile, Betty picked a long bull whip and spread it open. Without warning, she struck the long thick whip to the concrete ground as hard as she could, causing Gil to jump slightly from the sudden loud thud. Then, she walked to George and handed him the whip._

"_Strike her as hard as you can." she ordered him._

"_Yes, Ma'am. How many stikes?" George inquired._

"_As many as I want to. Do not stop until I say so." she smiled as she walked back to stand beside her son, whose face showed no emotion whatsoever._

_With one final plea from Sara's eyes that was met with coldness, she knew for sure that she was on her own. So she just braced herself against the inevitable pain, which she knew was going to be unbearable. Sara gripped at the chains that bound her wrists as she stiffened her body with all her might. Her eyes closed shut tightly while waiting for the long leather string to cut through the flesh on her back. _

_The first strike connected with her back, making her scream as loud as her lungs allowed her. She had felt such intense pain she never experienced before. It felt as if her skin was being ripped off her body as the whip leather cut through the fabric of her dress on its way to the flesh of her back. She kept screaming and sobbing as the strikes continued over and over. Pain increased with each new strike until she could not take it anymore. She looked at Gil, desperately begging him to stop the pain but he did not move a muscle nor did he spoke a word. Although her anguished screams and desperate silent pleas her eyes showed was killing him inside, he couldn't do anything to stop it. He felt completely paralyzed at that moment._

_By the thirteenth strike, Sara began to lose consciousness from the intense agony. And by the fifteenth, her body went completely limp. The only things that kept her from meeting the floor were the chains that bound her wrists. That's when Betty ordered George to stop the torturous session. By that time, Sara's back was a bloody mess. Betty smiled in satisfaction as she saw the damage she caused to the young slave. Unlike his mother, Gil couldn't bring himself to look at it. Just then, he caught sight of Sara's blood dripping from the whip, causing his heart to tighten in fear. And before anyone could react, he fled the basement and made his way to his room, locking the door behind him after he heard his mother's voice as she ordered George and Billy to carry Sara to her own room._

_Once inside his room, his sanctuary, Gil felt safe enough to pour his emotions out of his body. He reached his bed just in time to collapse on top of it while his body wracked with audible sobs. He buried his face in his pillow in order to muffle the sounds of his anguish. He kept sobbing until he fell asleep from exhaustion._

By the time Gil reached the end of the painful memory, he heard the front door of the house open then shut. He pulled himself to a sitting position as he turned to his bedside clock, which read 6:00 pm, and knew that that was his mother leaving for the dinner party that was going to start at 6:30 pm.

Just then, Gil heard a soft knock on his door so he unlocked it and was surprised to see Belle standing there because she rarely visited him in his room.

"Gil, can I talk to you for a minute?" she asked her older brother.

He nodded and ushered her in his room in spite of the concern his face expressed. With that, he closed the door behind them. He sat on his bed while Belle chose the sofa across from him. Belle looked at the floor as she didn't know how to approach the subject.

"What is it, Belle? Are you okay? You're scaring me." he asked sincerely.

"Yes, and it's not about me." Belle was choosing her words carefully. "As you know, I was out of the house all day, which means I didn't know about what happened to Sara until a few minutes ago when Vivian notified me as soon as I reached here."

Gil did not know where his little sister was going with that as he gave her a "So?" look.

"So I came to you as soon as I found out."

"Honey, where are you going with this?" confusion written all over his handsome face.

"Sara did not..." Belle stopped suddenly, hesitant to whether inform her brother.

Gil's face was on high alert at that moment. "Sara did not what, Belle?" he pushed.

Belle remained quiet.

"Belle please, if you know anything about what happened to Sara, then you've got to tell me. I need to know, sweetheart." he urged his sister to speak. "If there's a hidden truth behind that, you got to let me know, honey. Please."

"Gil, if mom knew I'm telling you this, she'll ground me for the rest of my life, she'll even hate me." she stated fearfully.

"I won't tell her anything, I promise you, Belle."

"Sara did not steal mom's necklace." she said surely.

"Wh-what are you saying? How do you know that?" his heart suddenly sank in his chest at that revelation.

"Before I left for college this morning, I went to search for Sara to help me with my hair so when I stepped into her room, I didn't find her but found mom instead with the diamond necklace tucked in her palm while she was standing beside Sara's drawer chest. When I asked her what was she doing in Sara's room, she told me in a hushed tone that she had this annoying habit which she would check the slaves' bedrooms every once in a while to make sure they did not steal anything from us. And I bought it, Gil. All of it." she shook her head in disappointment. "I never knew what her intentions were until it was too late. I swear, Gil. I didn't know."

Gil's eyes filled with tears as he whispered. "I believe you, sweetie. Thank you for telling me the truth." he tried to smile at her through his watery eyes.

Belle nodded. "But you can't tell mom about any of this. You promised. She would know that I'm the one who told you because I was the only person who saw her in Sara's room." she explained with fear.

"Don't worry, darling. I won't mention any of this to her." he reassured her.

_Oh God. She was punished for something she didn't do. She tried to explain to me that she was innocent, but I didn't bother to do anything about it. I was too much of a coward to stand by her side and protect her while she was being tortured. I turned my back on her when she needed me the most. I let them hurt her mercilessly. I let them rip out her flesh. She was screaming in agony. She looked at me and desperately begged me to stop her pain while I just stood there. I was just as heartless as her torturers. _Gil was deep in thought that he did not notice that Belle had left his to give him some privacy with his emotions. He felt great happiness and great sorrow all at the same time. He was happy to know that his Sara did not betray his trust for her. As he was sad to know that she endured such heart breaking torture for something she never did. He couldn't stop the flow of tears that ran down his cheeks while he struggled to catch his breath. Pain and guilt filled his heart so deep that he thought it would explode in his chest.

Gil suddenly found himself standing outside Sara's room. Without knocking, he pushed the door open and entered. He found her lying on her stomach on her mattress. She was holding her Shakespeare book tightly in her arm while silent tears fell down from her cheeks and dropped on the book cover. He knew that she was in great pain from the beating she received a few hours back, which was the cause of most of her tears. Gil could tell that she had been crying for a while based on the redness of her eyes. She kept staring at nothing in particular and he, for a moment, thought that she did not notice him standing in her room until she spoke softly.

"I didn't do it. I swear on my brother's life that I did not take that necklace." she sniffled.

"I believe you. I know." his heart went out for her when he heard the desperation in her voice as she tried to prove her innocence after all she went through.

"How?" she asked, confusion evident in her voice.

"You were framed."

Sara did not need to ask by whom. There's only one person in that house who hated her. She wondered why Betty hated her enough to put her through such hell. Without a word, Gil moved to the mattress and sat beside her lying form, caressing her hair.

"I'm so sorry, Sara. Please forgive me." he choked.

"For what? You didn't hurt me." came her reply.

Gil couldn't hold his tears any longer so he gave up and let them moist his cheeks. _After all I had done to her. After all the hurt I allowed them to inflict on her, she still thinks that I didn't do anything wrong. _Her love and tenderness for him were more than he could bear.

"I didn't stop them from hurting you either." he whispered.

"You didn't know. You didn't have any reason to believe I was framed. Besides, it doesn't hurt as much. Vivan cleaned the wounds for me before dressing them." she tried to make him feel better.

"Did anyone ever tell you how much of a terrible liar you are?" he tried to lighten the mood a bit.

She smiled at him, causing his heart to glee for a moment.

He didn't want to see or know how much damage his mother imprinted on Sara's back, bur he knew he needed to.

"Can I see your wounds." he asked gently.

When she nodded, he carefully pulled down the covers she was tucked in to her calves before lifting her cotton dress, which Vivian helped her wear after cleaning her injuries. Her back was covered with a large piece of gauze that was at least half soaked with Sara's blood due to her deep cuts. Abruptly, Gil let out a loud gasp after carefully removing the gauze with trembling hands.

What he saw shocked him to the core. The damage that was inflicted on her back was far worse than he anticipated. Just the sight of the raw deep cuts those were scattered all over her back, made his whole body tremble visibly. Once again, tears found his eyes and fell to his cheeks as he leaned forward, tracing each long cut with feather kisses before gently placing the gauze back on her back and pulling the covers up over her body again. After that, he brought his teary eyes to meet her pained ones, and before he could say anything, he felt her gentle palm on his cheeks as she wiped away his tears.

"So sorry, please forgive me." he begged through his own pain.

"I do. I really do, but please don't cry. I can't bear to see your tears." she continued to wipe his tears.

Gil did not waste another second as he slipped beside her on the mattress and held her tightly to him, mindful of her injuries while they lay together. Gil saw the book she held protectively in her arm, knowing that like him, she sought comfort from Shakespeare's words so he recited his work for her until she relaxed in his arms and fell asleep almost immediately after that.

As Gil lay beside her sleeping form, he allowed his anger towards his mother to resurface._ How could she be so cruel and cold-hearted to frame such a weak, innocent girl to such crime and demand even a greater torture on her frail body? _He just couldn't fathom how his own mother could be that evil. He so wished he could confront her and yell at her that he knew about her heartless acts towards his Sara, but two main reasons stopped him from doing so. One, he didn't want to put Belle in trouble with his mother. Two, he didn't want to show his mother his feelings towards Sara, not that she didn't already know but still, showing her his love for Sara would only cause her to seek more revenge from the slave. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and tried to control his emotions as best as he could. _One month. One last month before getting my Sara away from all the pain and agony in this place. Until then, I would keep a close eye on her. _


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** A huge thanks for the outstanding reviews. Knowing that you enjoyed my fic is what kept me going, and I hope you enjoy the rest of it.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Seven months later:

It had been six months since they came to Vegas. Ever since they arrived, Gil bought a townhouse instead of renting an apartment. Gil highly valued his privacy, which was the main reason for buying the townhouse. The townhouse consisted of a huge master bedroom, two extra bedrooms, a large study office, four bathrooms, a kitchen, a big-spaced living room, and a wonderfully colored backyard.

Gil had been teaching in UNLV for almost six months, and was highly respected and admired by his students. He was a great professor in every way possible. He had created a friendly relationship with his students, he wasn't too bossy to them so they could feel confident around him. Also, he was quite fair in grading, and always encouraging the students to do better by showing his appreciation to their hard work and frequent compliments.

Before they moved to San Francisco, the Grissom household used to live in Las Vegas for as long as Gil could remember. Vegas was his hometown until he was eighteen, right after he graduated from high school when his family decided to move to San Francisco and forced him to come along with them.

Gil had reunited with his old friends from high school within the first week of his arrival to Las Vegas. Jim Brass, Catherine Willows, and Al Robbins are his best friends since high school. They were the only people he could confide in. Even after he moved to San Fran, he kept in touch with each and every one of them. He would open up to them whenever he felt he needed to talk to someone, and they would always support him. He even told them about his feelings for Sara. Since then, they all knew that he loved her even though he tried to hide it from them.

Jim Brass was the nightshift homicide detective of the Las Vegas Crime Lab, who took his job seriously. Because of his fair and hard work, he worked his way up the academy until he became what he was. Everybody respected him deeply, and loved him for his friendly and humorous personality. Also, he was the closest to Gil of all three of his good friends.

There's also Catherine Willows, who was the Las Vegas Crime Lab nightshift supervisor. She's very thorough with her work which made her such a successful CSI. Due to her hard work, she was promoted from a regular CSI to a supervisor in record time. She's also fair to her subordinates and had a friendly relationship with each of them. She was a single who proved to everyone that she's successful in every angle in her life. And although she could be a bit nosey at times, Gil knew she had a good heart and was a true friend. She would always try to convince him to lift his head out of the microscope and be a sociable person. And in spite of her prying habit that constantly annoyed Gil, he knew that she would be happy for him as long as he was happy.

And last but not least, Al Robbins was the coroner of the Las Vegas Crime Lab. He worked the nightshift as well. He had a great knowledge in medicine that he was trusted to treat anyone in the department in case of an emergency. He was the private physician to both his friends upon their preference. He's loyal to both, his job and his friends.

So, Gil Grissom knew exactly how lucky he was to have such true friends. He could never ask for better friends to rely on because he was pretty sure that they would never turn their backs on him. And because of that, he wouldn't trade them for the world.

It was a bright, sunny Saturday morning and Gil thought of taking advantage of it. So, he decided he'd walk to the small bookstore that was located just a few blocks away from his townhouse. When he was ready, he got out of his room and passed the living room to head for the front door when he saw her through the glass sliding doors, sitting quietly on the stairs of the backyard deck. She was daydreaming about something as she sat outside, staring into space.

Gil's heart went for her as he thought about how lonely and bored she must be feeling at that moment. So he made his way to her and sat beside her on the steps of the deck. She just turned to him and smiled. He smiled back and took her hand in his.

"I'm thinking about walking to the small bookstore which is a few blocks from here, and I was wondering if you would like to come along." he asked while looking into her eyes.

Without any warning to his heart, her sad expression turned into a full beaming one in less than a second, and he thought that his heart would explode from the joy that filled it.

"Really? But slaves aren't allowed to get out of the house."

"Unless they get out with their masters." he replied, smiling at her.

She grinned and stood up in a flash, so excited that she couldn't wait to see the outside world. She hadn't seen anything other than the inside of the townhouse for six months. Since coming to Vegas, she didn't step outside the townhouse or the backyard because slaves weren't allowed to get out often for fear that they would easily escape from their masters. Even if they got out of the house which is reluctant, they must be monitored closely by their masters.

Gil's smile now turned into a grin when he witnessed the excitement his Sara was in. "I don't need to ask you if you're ready, do I?"

She laughed and his heart filled with more joy if that was possible.

An hour later, they got out of the bookstore and some stranger asked Gil for some road instruction. While Gil was providing the old man what information he needed, Sara walked to the shop window that was next to the bookstore's and silently admired the tight red dress that was displayed on the mannequin. It caught all of her attention that she did not notice Gil standing right beside her. Gil noticed that she fell in love with that dress the moment she laid eyes on it.

"You like it?" he asked, motioning to the bright red dress.

She looked at him, shaking her head. "It doesn't matter. I can't afford it anyway."

"Do you like it?" he repeated.

"Yes, but I told you..."

"Then, it's yours." he interrupted.

"No." she shook her head adamantly. "It's too expensive. I can't let you buy me such expensive stuff."

"Sara, nothing is expensive for you." he tried to convince her.

She shook her head again. "Well, thank you, but I'm afraid I can't accept such a thing from you. I'm sorry." her tone told him that that conversation was over.

He let it drop when he realized that there would be no point in arguing. He so wanted to buy that dress. He saw how she admired it, how she looked at it, and he wanted more than anything to get it to her, he wanted to make her happy but he knew she would not accept it. Sara did not have most of the things other people have, but she had the one thing most people lack. Sara Sidle had dignity.

As they walked back to the townhouse, the perfect idea hit his brain. He smiled to himself as he kept walking by her side when he figured a way to get her that dress without hurting her feelings. All he had to do was to be patient until the right time comes.

A week later, Gil and Sara just finished eating dinner so Sara began cleaning the table and putting the dishes in the sink before Gil took her hands in his to stop her.

"Do that later, right now I want you with me." he said softly.

Nodding her head, Sara looked at him. "Okay."

Keeping her hand in his, he led her to his office. Once she entered, she gasped at the sight in front of her and her eyes teared.

On his desk was a small birthday cake that was written on it 'Happy 19th Birthday, my Sara." with nineteen candles torching on it, and beside the cake was a red wrapped birthday present that shone in the dim office light.

Gil silently led her further to the desk until they reached it. He looked into her chocolate brown orbs as he whispered. "Happy Birthday, my dearest Sara."

Unable to hold her emotions any longer, Sara let the tears slide down her cheeks as she looked into his deep blue eyes.

"You remembered. I thought you forgot." she whispered back.

"How could I?" unable to take his deep blues away from her.

"You have no idea how much this means to me. Thank you." she hugged him tightly.

Gil wrapped his arms around her protectively while closing his eyes, reveling in her closeness to him. When they pulled back, Gil reached for the wrapped present and handed it to her. Taking it from him, she smiled warmly before blowing off the candles on the cake.

"Open it." Gil suggested, pointing to the gift in her hands.

Nodding, Sara tore the gift wrapper and found a rectangular box beneath it. When she lifted the top cover off the box, she couldn't believe her own eyes. Her trembling hands reached the red fabric and pulled it out of the box to reveal a bright red dress. The bright red dress. The exact same one she saw a week ago and thought she would never own. Her watery eyes sought his charming ones. "Oh God. Gil, this is too much." she whispered.

"Nothing is too much in comparison to you." he whispered back, reaching his hands to her cheeks to gently wipe away the flood of emotions that covered them. "Why don't you go and try that dress on you while I cut us some cake?"

Unable to say anything else, Sara just nodded and disappeared to do what he asked while he started to cut a couple of pieces of cake before putting them into two dessert plates.

When he was done, he lifted his gaze and his breath caught in his throat at the sight in front of him. Just before him, Sara stood wearing the dress and he couldn't seem to take his eyes away from the beautiful view that took his breath away.

The dress hugged her body perfectly, showing every curve it possessed. And the more he roamed his eyes over her well-toned body, the harder it was for him to take them off her.

Without any rational thinking, his legs seemed to walk on their own as he moved to her slowly before stopping right in front of her. Their gazes lingered on one another for a few moments before Gil brought his hand to stroke her cheek gently.

"So beautiful." he whispered, marveling her beauty.

Gil's thumb traced her lips slowly as if to feel how soft and delicate they were. Leaning his face closer to hers, he saw her eyes started to close and it was his undoing. He boldly brought his lips to hers, and when neither could pull back, the kiss deepened as his tongue tugged at her lips, demanding entrance to explore her mouth. She complied as she opened her mouth for him to let him take complete control. His tongue turned and rolled against her own tongue and teeth. It felt amazing until they pulled back reluctantly due to their desperate need for air.

Gil couldn't resist the temptation anymore, he carried her to his master bedroom and undressed her before laying her on the king-sized bed. Next, he undressed himself as well before straddling her waist as she lay back beneath him.

He once again, attacked her lips with his and continued to explore her mouth, causing her to moan deeply into his mouth. Then Gil turned his interest to her breasts, making her whole body to tremble beneath him as he sucked and nipped each nipple, giving them both equal attention.

When his shaft was fully erected, Gil slipped his hand to Sara's folds to feel how wet her center was, causing her to emanate a greatly pleasured moan.

After Gil reached for a condom and slipped it over his erected penis, he looked at Sara's half closed eyes caused by his pleasurable assault on her body.

"Do you need me, Sara?" he whispered.

"More than you could ever believe." she whispered lazily.

Satisfied with her honest answer, he smiled at her as he entered her. She gasped loudly at the sudden thrust.

"Shh, relax. I won't hurt you, I promise." he soothed.

Seeing her nod, he thrust again and began to pace inside her, slowly at first then faster and faster gradually until they climaxed together.

Gil was amazed at the intensity of his climax when Sara made him come. At that moment, he knew for sure that she was the one. No one ever made him feel that way before, feel that pleasure he was feeling at the moment. So he promised himself that he would hold on to his Sara and never let her go, no matter how severe the consequences were.

After he disentangled himself from her, Gil lay beside her and pulled her close to him so he could hold her. They were both panting as their sweaty bodies touched.

"I love you, my Sara." he confessed to her softly, planting a kiss on her sweaty hair.

She smiled at him and lifted her head so she could look into his eyes when she confessed, too. "I love you too, Gil."

He smiled back at her and tightened his hold on her body. Not long after that, they were both asleep in each other's arms with a smile on their lips.

**A/N:** The last chapter was too dark, so I figured you could use all the love and smut I can give :)


	9. Chapter 9

**WARNING: **This chapter contains some dark themes, such as abuse and ruthlessness, so if you think you cannot handle such stuff, then please **do not read**. And those of you who believe you have a strong stomach, brace yourselves for what's coming up. Wa ha ha ;~D

**A/N: **Please let me know what you think.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Three years later:

Gil woke up and got out of his room to see Sara sitting on a chair in front of the sliding glass doors that separated the living room from the backyard, staring at the colorful flowers and bright green grass that was laid all over the backyard ground. It was obvious to Gil that her brain was in such debating process since she had not heard him call her name. He wondered what occupied her mind. And he also noticed that in the last two weeks, she had not gotten out to the backyard as often as she used to. Especially that she was in the house all the time with no other distraction. Gil knew that she must had been as bored as hell, and that the backyard always seemed to steal the time from her as time passed so quick whenever she was there, so Gil wanted to know why she had stopped distracting herself with it.

He moved closer to her and called her name again when he reached her. She turned and found him standing beside her.

"Sorry, I didn't hear you coming." she apologized, getting up from her chair.

"You did not hear me call you, either. What are you thinking about, sweetheart?" he caressed her cheek softly.

"Nothing important." she shook her head, adding when she saw his disbelieving look that was sent her way. "Okay. I was thinking about the Pettigrew family that took residence in the house next door, a couple of weeks ago." she started.

"What about them?" he asked blankly.

"It's just that...their son, Hank, scares me a little, that's all." she hesitated.

Now, Gil's face expressed mere concern. "Why is that? What did he do?" he pushed in a worried voice.

"Well, he stares at me in a strange way. He wouldn't take his eyes off me as they roamed all over my body. He never said a word as he just gazed intently at me which frightened me. And every time I go to the backyard, I see him sitting on the stairs of their backyard deck as if he was waiting for me, which freaked me out, so I eventually stopped going to the backyard." she revealed.

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" asked Gil with anger in his voice, as well as his features.

"I tried, but you were always busy, Gil. You didn't have time for this." she explained.

Gil's face suddenly softened as he heard her reason. Feeling guilty for not spending enough time with her, for her to express her fears to him. "I'm so sorry, honey. I'll meet his parents today and I'm going to tell them about their son's frightening actions towards you. And warn them, if they would not deal with him, then I would." he held her in his arms. "Promise me that, next time, you would tell me about the things that bother you, no matter how busy I am."

"I promise." she said softly. "Are you hungry?" she let go of him.

"Starving." he smiled.

"Me too, so I made us both pancakes this morning. I decided to wait for you so we could eat together. They're in the oven." she said as she started to head to the kitchen.

His smile widened as he followed her.

Later that evening, when Gil and Sara finished Dinner at 6:30 pm, Gil told Sara that he had an errand to run and got out of the house. Sara busied herself with washing the dirty dishes before washing Gil's dirty clothes. After that she started to vacuum the living room and was giving her back to the front door when Gil entered without being noticed by her. Before Gil had time to announce his presence, the living room was cleaned and Sara turned off the vacuum cleaner, stopping the annoying sound. When she turned around, she gasped at the sight in front of her. Abandoning the vacuum cleaner, she crossed the few feet separating her from Gil and stood right before him with questioning eyes.

Beside Gil, stood the cutest boxer her eyes had ever laid on. He was about two and a half feet tall and covered with mixture of brown and white hair. He was standing quietly beside Gil while looking at Sara intently with those adorable brown eyes. He also had a huge red ribbon tied loosely around he neck, which made him look the most adorable dog on earth.

Seeing her confused eyes, Gil explained. "This is Bruno, and he's your dog, Sara." he pointed at the boxer who was staring quietly at her. "I adopted him for you so you won't be alone. I know how lonely and bored you get, most of the time, so I got you Bruno to be your companion. He was lonely too, Sara. No one wanted him because he drools and snores, but he's also loyal and loving. And I know he'll love and protect you while I'm away."

Sara's eyes misted and she hugged Gil tightly while whispering. "Thank you, Gil. I love you."

Gil's heart skipped a beat when she told him she loved him. His heart always reacted the same way whenever she told him that although he had heard it every night, for the last three years. He just couldn't get enough of it, no matter how many times he heard it in the past.

After Sara let go of Gil, she bent down in front of the boxer and hugged him, too. Then she rubbed him with her palm and looked at Gil. "He's so adorable."

"He is, as long as he doesn't sleep in the house." he said, smiling.

"Why not?"

"Didn't you hear the reasons why nobody wanted him?" he reminded her.

Sara burst out laughing at his statement, and he smiled when the most beautiful sound entered his ears.

Two weeks had passed since Bruno was brought. Bruno made Sara feel safer whenever Gil wasn't around the house. She would play with Bruno whenever she got bored. He took her mind off many painful memories that attacked it whenever she was bored and lonely. In the last two weeks, Bruno managed to find his way to Sara's heart and forced her to love him. He would do anything to make her laugh whenever he felt her lonely and sad.

Gil entered the house that night and found it awfully quiet and dark. It was almost pitch black if not for the dim light that came from the kitchen. His heart clenched when he sensed that something was wrong. So he went to the kitchen and found Sara washing the dishes while her back was to the door. He knew that she did not notice his presence so he went to stand beside her. She was too focused on what she was doing.

"Sara?"

Startled, she stopped what she was doing instantly and began to wipe her wet cheeks. Gil got alarmed and put his hands on her shoulders to turn her so she could face him. Her eyes were red and puffed from crying and he knew that she had been crying for quite a while. What he did not know was why.

"What's wrong, honey?" he asked, concerned.

"Nothing." she sniffled.

"That doesn't look like nothing, sweetheart." he tried to wipe the rest of the tears she left behind.

He waited for her to open up to him, but when she didn't, he let it go. He didn't want to push her. He told himself that she would tell him what was bothering her whenever she was ready. Until then, he decided to do the one thing that would provide her comfort and safety. He would make love to her intimately, and show her how much she was loved.

"Okay. Come with me." he took her hand in his and led her to their bedroom. Yes, it was THEIR bedroom now. Ever since the first time he made love to her, he couldn't sleep without her beside him. And he was sure she felt the same about him.

Once they entered the room, he closed the door behind them and began to undress her before laying her down on her back on the bed. Gil didn't waste any time as he undressed himself before crawling on the bed and straddling her waist. He couldn't fathom the reason behind her sadness as he helplessly watched the tears again, falling down the sides of her face and into the pillow, dampening the sheets. He lowered his face to hers, and was about to consume her lips with his when it hit him full force. Gil stopped dead as he noticed the bite marks on her body. There were bite marks on the left side of her neck, left shoulder, and right breast. There were also rope burns on both her wrists. They all looked fresh and swollen.

For a moment, Gil felt he could neither speak nor move, but after a few, his anger found him and he looked at Sara's eyes with accusations in his own as they darkened.

"You filthy whore, who did you fuck?" he thundered.

Due to her fear, Sara was unable to speak so she just shook her head.

"Don't you dare deny it, you bitch. How stupid do you think I am?" he yelled at her.

"I didn't, I swear. It's not what you think." she sobbed breathlessly.

Gil couldn't take it anymore. He could not look into her face any longer so he gripped her freshly burned wrist, which caused her to cry out in pain, and pulled her off his bed, ignoring her pain.

"Get out of here. Leave my sight. You disgust me."he growled and got out of bed before he started getting dressed. Then he tossed the rest of Sara's clothes, which she did not have the time to wear, to her violently. He grabbed her arm with great force that she felt her bone was going to snap, causing her another yelp of pain to escape her lips as he dragged her out of the room and just in front of the glass sliding door that led to the backyard.

"Please, just listen to me..." she tried to explain through non-stop sobs.

Too raged to listen to what she was mumbling, Gil slid the glass door open before turning to her, his other hand still clutching her arm. "You're father was right. You're not even worth living, let alone be loved. I can't believe how stupid I was to even think of loving you." his eyes wide with rage. "You're not welcomed in this house, anymore. You are going to sleep in the doghouse from now on, you hear me? On the dirt, where you belong. My mother was right, you are nothing. I regret all the past years I wasted, caring for someone that has no value, like you. You're not worth the risk." he dragged her out the house and stopped in front of the stairs of the backyard deck.

Sara tried to pull her arm from his grasp but failed. "No, Gil. You don't understand. Let me explain, please..." she begged desperately as her face was completely covered with tears.

"Shut up. Don't you ever say my name again. You've tainted it enough in the past four years. You know, as much as I loved you, I hate you now." he yelled.

Gil was meaning to forcefully guide her down the deck stairs when he roughly dragged her with him as he descended them, causing Sara to lose her footing and trip on the first stair. With a lightning speed and before anyone could react, she fell down the stairs, face down as her head connected with the edge of the last stair. With that, Sara lost consciousness immediately.

"SARA!" Gil shouted as he cradled her head in his lap and began to lightly pat her tear-stained cheeks. "Oh God. Sara, wake up. Please wake up."

When he got no response from her whatsoever, he checked her head for injuries, and was relieved when he found none, before pulling out his cell phone from his pocket to call Doc Robbins and ask him to come check on Sara.

Then gil lifted Sara's lifeless body off the ground and carried her to the bedroom, laying her on the bed. Tears spilled down his cheeks as he thought about Sara and that it was his fault she was now laying lifelessly on his bed. Deep inside, he still loved her very much, and nothing would change that no matter what she did to him, and that what scared him to his very core.

That night, his rage won over his logic, which rarely happened. Gil didn't snap often, but when he did, he destroyed everything around him.

In fifteen minutes, his doorbell rang and Gil rushed to it and led Doc to the bedroom. As soon as Doc found Sara laying unconsciously on the bed, he got alarmed and inquired about what had happened. Gil told him everything while he watched him examine Sara.

After Doc's thorough examination on Sara, he suddenly got uncomfortable and hesitated about revealing his findings to Gil. His sudden change in demeanor did not go unnoticed on Gil.

"What's wrong, Doc? Should I be taking her to a hospital?" Gil asked, worried about her health.

"No, no need for that. I'll give her a shot to fight off any infections these bite marks may cause, along with an ointment and painkillers for the pain she'll be experiencing when she wakes. Other than that, she'll be fine." he reassured.

"Then, what is it?" Gil pushed.

"I...I don't think Sara cheated on you, Gil." Doc confirmed.

"Wh...What do you mean? Wh...What about all the marks on her body?" Gil stuttered, confused.

"From what it looks like, and I'm very sorry to tell you this, but I think she was raped." Doc finally spilled.

"Raped?" shock and pain were expressed on his face.

"She was tied up to the bedpost by a thick rope, which caused the burns around her wrists as a result of a struggle. Then got bitten in the most painful areas, probably to punish her for screaming and fighting back. After that, she was entered pretty roughly over and over, causing vaginal bleeding. The pain she endured must be excruciating during the merciless process." Doc explained and looked at Gil. "The burns and bite marks on her body indicate that she struggled. She wouldn't have fought back if it was consensual sex. She did not cheat on you, Gil, but instead, she fought for you. She loved you enough to endure anything for you."

Gil stifled a sob. "I was so cruel to her. I said some merciless words. I even used my hands while she was already in pain. Why didn't she tell me?"

"Did you give her a chance to explain?"

Gil couldn't hold his sobs anymore. He fell to his knees as his whole body shook with painful sobs.

Doc knew that Gil must had been deeply hurt when he acted violently towards Sara, so he did not judge his friend for not giving Sara time to explain before he lashed out on her. He waited until Gil's sobs began to quiet. "You better apologize to her when she wakes up."

Gil nodded. "I'll pray she forgives me."

"She will." Doc said without hesitation.

Gil looked at Sara through teary eyes.

"Gil, you have to wake her up every two hours and make sure she responds to you, if she doesn't, then call me immediately or take her to the hospital because it might be a concussion, and when she wakes, she'll be in severe pain so don't let her get out of bed or work for at least two days. She needs her rest. It is a crucial factor to her recovery." Doc instructed.

Gil nodded his head. "Of course."

After giving her the shot and handed Gil the ointment and painkillers, Doc left. So Gil made his way to Sara and stroked her hair while he apologized to her over and over. Even though he knew she wasn't aware of his apology, somehow the act made him feel a little better.

Two hours later, Gil tried to stop his tears as he replayed how cruel he was to Sara when she needed him the most. He could never forgive himself for what he did to her even though she forgave him, and he was sure she would, because what he did was inexcusable, no matter how angry and jealous he was. Gil got out from the study to check on his Sara in their bedroom. But once he entered the room, she was in no where to be seen, the bed was empty but neatly made.

Gil panicked instantly as he tried to figure out where she could be. Where had she gone in her weak condition. Then it hit him. He ran out to the backyard and went straight to the doghouse. Gil covered his mouth with his hand to stifle the sob that managed to escape his lips involuntarily. What he saw was more than heartbreaking, causing fresh tears to attack his cheeks.

Sara was curled up, sleeping on the ground on top of the dirt and mud in the doghouse beside Brune who was laying quietly, trying to guard her. Without hesitation, Gil reached for her and carried back to their bed. When he placed her down on the bed, she began to stir and slowly opened her eyes to find blue ones gazing back at with such warmth that wasn't there the last time she saw them.

"I didn't cheat on you, I swear. Hank raped me although I tried to fight him off. He was too strong for me. I couldn't stop him." she explained to him as new tears fell down her cheeks.

Gil's blood boiled when he learned that Hank raped his Sara. Hank was behind that whole ordeal. _That son of a bitch raped my Sara. That bastard was going to pay for that, no matter what. I'll surely put him behind bars for a very long time. How dare he touch MY SARA?_

Gil tried as best as he could to hide his internal turmoil from Sara. He did not want to upset her more than he already did. He reached for her cheeks and wiped away her tears gently while whispering in her ear. "I believe you, honey. I know. Doc Robbins was here to examine you earlier, and told me everything. His findings proved that you were raped."

Sara nodded her head. "I'm so sorry I didn't tell you right away, earlier, but I just didn't want to upset you." she whispered.

Gil felt like a complete asshole at that moment. _She's the one who was apologizing? After all what I did to her? After I treated her like shit? Yet, she was apologizing. Oh God, there is nothing that I can do for her to make it up to her. She was way more than I deserve._

"No, sweetheart. I'm the one who should apologize. I'm so sorry, honey, for the way I treated you, for pushing you down the deck stairs, and for what I said to you. I didn't mean any of it, I swear. Please, forgive me. I would do anything for your forgiveness. Please, just forgive me." he sobbed beside her.

Sara tried to wipe his falling tears as she soothed him, whispering in his ear. "You don't have to do anything, Gil. I already forgave you. You didn't mean for any of that to happen, I know. You were just angry. And, me, falling down the stairs was an accident, I just tripped. You didn't intentionally push me."

Gil brought his eyes to her. "I don't deserve your kindness, Sara." he shook his head.

"You do, Gil. You're a good man."

Without thinking, Gil held her close to him and wrapped his strong arms around her, careful of her injuries. "I swear to you, Sara, that I'll try to make it up to you for the rest of my life."

"You're doing it right now just by holding me." she said with her head resting against his shoulder.

He kissed her lovingly on her forehead before she told him the whole story of what happened.

"Bruno was in the backyard, playing while I washed some of your dirty clothes. Then I heard the door bell and I rushed to see who was there. When I opened the door, I was met with a frustrated hank and he had a butcher knife clutched tightly in his hand. I was terrified, and for a moment, I thought that I was going to die right there. He pointed the knife at me and forced me to do what he wanted. He guided me to the nearest bedroom he found, which was the guest bedroom. After that, he made undress as he undressed as well, and before I know it, I was shoved into the bed. He pinned me down, holding my wrists above my head before binding them to the bedpost. I tried to kick and scream but he punished me every time I did. He dug his teeth into my flesh, forcing me to be quiet, but instead, it caused me to scream harder. I think Bruno sensed that something was wrong with me because I could hear him barking, trying to get me to let him in. That was right before Hank entered me roughly, thrusting harder and harder as long as I kept screaming. And when he was done, he simply untied my wrists, moved off me, got dressed, picked his knife off the floor, and took off. Just like that." she finished, sobbing hard.

Gil held her firmly as she sobbed, trying to still her wracking body. "That bastard is going to pay for what he did to you. I promise you that. You just sleep now, darling. Your body needs rest. Don't worry about anything else." he soothed before she, safely, fell asleep in his arms. 


	10. Chapter 10

**WARNING: **This chapter got some darkness surrounding it, so **do not read **ifyou can't take it.

**A/N: **I wasn't originally planning to focus solely on Gil's revenge on Hank in this chapter, but since your reviews indicated that you're all expecting it, I couldn't disappoint you. So, I really hope you like it. And, a huge thanks for the great reviews, guys. I love you all =)

CHAPTER NINE

"_That bastard is going to pay for what he did to you. I promise you that. You just sleep now, darling. Your body needs rest. Don't worry about anything else." he soothed before she, safely, fell asleep in his arms._

Gil tried to take the thoughts of killing Hank out of his mind as he tried to sleep. _Tomorrow. I'll deal with him tomorrow. _He thought while he closed his eyes, trying to sleep as he tightened his hold on his Sara, keeping her safe.

As he was about to sleep, he heard Bruno barking. His barking did not falter even after a whole minute. Now alarmed, Gil moved from under Sara as gently as he could, got out of bed, and went to the backyard to see what was causing Bruno such distress.

Gil was utterly shocked at what he saw in front of him. On the next door's backyard, Hank was sitting on the deck stairs, staring into space, not aware of anything around him. Bruno stood just behind the white fence that separated the two houses, barking madly. If it wasn't for the fence, Bruno would have long attacked Hank, ripping out his flesh chunk by chunk with his sharp teeth. He knew that Hank had hurt his kind master, Sara. He sensed it. Bruno was a smart dog.

Gil couldn't hold his anger anymore, he went to Bruno and ordered him to stop barking. He didn't want his dog to wake or alert the neighbors. The dog obeyed immediately. Gil reached down and petted him before ordering him to go to the doghouse and stay there quietly. Once Bruno did what he was told and disappeared from Gil's sight, Gil jumped over the low white fence, swiftly crossing it and landed on the Pettigrew's backyard.

Without any rational thoughts, Gil ran towards a dazed Hank, punching on the face and torso over and over as he yelled obscenities at him. But no matter how hard Gil was beating or screaming at him, Hank wasn't responding. He was still in a daze.

"You son of a bitch. How dare you touch my Sara." Gil thundered.

Hank still didn't respond.

"You're gonna pay for that, you bastard. I'm going to put you in jail for a very long time, you piece of shit."

At that, Hank regained his awareness and turned a dark set of eyes to Gil. And for a second, Gil flinched at the amount of darkness he saw in the younger man's eyes.

"No, you're not." that was all Hank said before pulling out a gun he tucked firmly in the back of his jeans, and before Gil could react, he placed the gun on his temple and pulled the trigger.

For a moment, Gil became dazed himself. His hand covered his mouth in shock. It all happened so fast. After a few moment, Gil regained his composure, pulled out his cell phone from his pocket, and called the only person he could think of in that situation. He called Jim Brass.

Gil told Jim everything over the phone and when he was done, he tucked the cell phone back in his pocket. He turned and went back to his backyard when he saw Sara coming out from the house, so he quickened his pace to her to guide her back into the house so she would not see the horrible bloody scene that once was Hank Pettigrew.

She stopped and stood just before the deck stairs with a concerned expression on her face. "Gil, I heard gunshot. What's wrong?"

"Go back inside, honey. I'll tell you everything inside." he ordered.

She obeyed without arguing and went inside, waiting patiently for him to come inside the house as well. Once inside, Gil told her everything. She was completely shocked. Gil pulled her to him and held her tight to his chest.

"It's okay, Sara, you're safe now. He's not going to hurt you again." he whispered into her hair.

She just nodded at his words.

A few minutes later, the whole group arrived. Jim Brass to investigate. Doc Robbins to release the body for transportation, and Catherine Willows to search for evidence along with her team. Warrick Brown, Nick Stokes, and Greg Sanders.

They took Gil's and Sara's statements, Gil's about the fight and Sara's about the rape.

"Did someone notify his parents yet, Jim?" asked Gil.

"Yeah, we couldn't do that." Jim replied.

"Why is that?" he inquired.

"Because we found them both dead in their living room. Each received a bullet to the temple." he said quietly, sadness evident in his voice.

Sara covered her mouth with her hand as tears filled her chocolate brown eyes, and Gil pulled her to him again to comfort her.

"How could someone be so evil?" she asked barely above a whisper.

"It's okay. Everything is going be to alright. He's gone, now. You don't have to worry about him." he whispered to her soothingly.

Jim saw the interaction between the couple and smiled before leaving. He was happy for them.

A couple of days later, the CSIs determined that Hank committed suicide after murdering both of his parents. So, Gil and Sara weren't suspects anymore as the evidence proved their innocence. And, in time, the whole Hank nightmare would be behind them.

**A/N: **I'm really sorry, guys. I realize it's such a short chapter, but that's all I could come up with due to the hectic finals and the limited time I managed to steal for writing it. I apologize again. Let me know what you think.


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER TEN

Two years later:

Gil and Sara were sitting on the living room couch, taking turns in reading Shakespeare to each other when the doorbell rang. Sara got up and went to see who it was. When she opened the the door, her face lost all color as Betty stood in front of her, looking at Sara from top to bottom with humiliating eyes. The taxi driver that brought her here from the airport appeared in the doorway, putting down Betty's large suitcase on the floor next to her. Betty payed him along with a generous tip. He beamed and thanked her before he left. Betty turned her stare back to Sara and ordered her to carry the large suitcase inside before passing her, getting into the house where she saw her son sitting on the living room sofa with the Shakespeare book in his hands. Gil's face lost all color as well.

"Dear, you look like you've just seen a ghost." Betty chucked softly at her son's expression.

"I just wasn't expecting you, mother." Gil managed to get out, standing up before moving to his mother. "What do you doing here?"

"Can't a mother visit her only son, every once in a while?" she replied, moving over the living room to take a seat on the couch. "Well, the house got really empty and quiet after your sister got married and moved out last year, and your father went on a business trip for ten days, so I figured in the meantime, I would come visit you until your father gets back from his trip." she smiled warmly at Gil.

"Ma'am, where do you want me to put your suitcase?" Sara asked, carrying the heavy suitcase.

"In the guest room, Sara?" Gil answered quickly before Betty had the chance, smiling at her.

Sara returned the smile and obeyed instantly.

After two days, Betty got real sick. She had a temp of 105 degrees. Her high fever drained her body from all the energy she possessed. She couldn't move out of the bed in the guest bedroom. Gil tried to convince her to let him take her to the hospital, but she refused, stating that she hated hospitals more than anything. So he called doc to come and check on his mother. Doc checked on her and gave her some medication along with instructions to follow, such as plenty of sleep and rest, and lack of movement. He reassured Gil that his mother will be okay as long as she followed the instructions and took the medication regularly. Doc also informed Gil that it would be best if someone monitored her closely and made sure she was responding positively to the treatment.

Gil checked on Betty and found her sleeping soundly before heading to the living room and sat heavily on the couch, sighing. Sara, who was cleaning the living room windows, saw him.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Doc said that someone should always be at my mother's side, in case she needed something." he said.

"And what's wrong with that?" she asked.

"I can't do that. The midterm exam period is starting tomorrow at the university, so I can't take some time off to look over my mother." he sighed.

"You don't have to, Gil. I'll be here to do that." she smiled at him.

"You'd do that, even after all what she did to you?" he asked incredulously.

"I don't hold grudges. Besides, what she did was in the past." her smile didn't falter.

"No one will ever deserve you in this world, my Sara."

"Just you."

He smiled back. "Thank you so much. I appreciate it."

She giggled and it was the most beautiful sound he ever heard in his life.

Next morning, Gil left early for the university, leaving Sara with Betty after he checked on her again. She was still warm but slept soundly, which relieved Gil, making it easier for him to leave her for a few hours. Once he was out the house, Sara cleaned the table before going to check on Betty and see if she needed anything. The door to Betty's room was ajar and Sara went in without knocking because she did not want to startle Betty awake. Sara walked to Betty and gently shook her shoulders. Betty opened her eyes slowly.

"Ma'am, it's time for your medication." said Sara as she took Betty's pills out of the bottle to hand them to her.

"Where's Gil?" Betty asked.

"He has midterms to give his students, so he went to the university early. The midterm period starts today. But he checked on you right before he left, which was almost an hour ago." Sara smiled warmly at her while giving her the medicine.

Betty was taken aback as she swallowed the pills that were offered to her by Sara.

"Are you hungry, Ma'am?" asked Sara gently.

All Betty could do was nod her head.

"I'll bring you some breakfast right away." she said, still smiling before she left the room.

Betty was truly ashamed of herself. _After everything I did to her, she still cares for me and smiles to me as if nothing had happened. I was wrong about her all those past years. I hurt and tortured her many times in the past, and she looks at me like I never hurt her. She doesn't have to care for me after the horrible things I did to her, but she does._ _She's too kind for me. I don't deserve her kindness. I have to apologize to her and seek her forgiveness. I need her to forgive me, in order for me to be able to forgive myself. _She wiped the tear that slid down her face just before Sara came back into the room, carrying a tray full of breakfast. She set the tray on the bedside table on Betty's right. It had a plate of pancakes, maple syrup, a glass of orange juice, and another plate of freshly cut mixed fruits.

"Thank you, Sara." Betty said quietly.

The simple three words took Sara completely by surprise. She did not expect to hear those words from Betty at all. "You...You're most welcome, Ma'am. I'll be right in the kitchen, starting lunch. If you need anything, just call and I'll be here instantly."

Betty nodded her head quietly and began to eat her breakfast as Sara left the room.

A few days passed and Betty felt better and better with each passing day. She had a couple of days more left to spend in Vegas before going back to San Francisco. On her last day in Las Vegas, Betty gathered both Gil and Sara to the living room. When the threesome sat comfortably on the couch, Betty began.

"The reason behind this gathering is because I have a couple of confessions to make."

Gil and Sara looked at each other with confusion.

Betty cleared her throat and clarified as she confessed. "I did many things in the past that I am not proud of, now." she looked at Sara before continuing. "Sara, I deliberately hurt you many times, and I am so sorry for doing so. You have no idea how much I am regretting it right now. If I could go back in time, I wouldn't have done what I did. Sara, it was me who locked you inside the bathroom and turned off the lights from outside, and it was also me who framed you, put the diamond necklace in your drawer and made everyone think that you stole it so you would get punished. All the acts I did were purely evil, I know that. But I've changed, now. I've changed since you didn't turn your back on me when I needed you the most. You still cared for me and looked over me while I was sick in spite of your knowledge of what I did to you." she turned her gaze back to her son. "Belle told me before she got married that she told you the truth. I'm so sorry." she told them both before looking Sara in the eye. "Please forgive me, Sara. I need your forgiveness, in order to forgive myself." begged Betty as she wiped the tears that consumed her cheeks.

Gil stayed quiet through the whole conversation. It was not his place to say anything or take any decision. It was all up to Sara. She was the one who went through hell. But he knew what her decision would be.

Sara got off the couch and went to where Betty sat, kneeling in front of her sitting form. "You didn't have to ask for my forgiveness because I already forgave you a long time ago. I don't hold grudges against anyone. What's done is done, and neither one of us can change the past, but we can change the future, right?" Sara eyes filled with unshed tears.

Without warning, Betty wrapped her arms around Sara's skinny torso and held her tight, putting both Gil and Sara in a shocked state.

"Thank you, dear. You have no idea how much I am relieved now to hear you say that." Betty said, barely above a whisper.

As his shock wore off, Gil just sat back and enjoyed the scene in front of him, smiling as his two favorite women in the world were finally bonding.

**A/N: **I'm finally relieved I found a way to make Betty soften and change to a good person, with a heart. I didn't want the story to end with everyone believing that she was the cold hearted, evil person. Especially, since she was so good towards Sara on the show ;)


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: **This is the last chapter, guys. I know it's soon but a sudden trip appeared out of nowhere. I'll be heading to Minnepolis, Minnesota, for a few weeks with my parents. And I am not allowed to bring my laptop along because it's supposed to be a 'family spending time together' sort of thing that my parents do every year, but it's usually not this early. So I had to get this story done before June 1st, that's when we'll be leaving. Because of the very little time I had to write the epilogue, it has no dialogue in it, except for one interaction :(

EPILOGUE

A year later:

It was the day that Sara was set free. She wasn't a slave anymore, but a free person with all the rights that any other free person possessed. It was also her birthday, and Gil wanted to make that day a special one. A day she will never forget. So, he did what he wanted to do ever since he laid eyes on her, seven years ago. He proposed to her. She said YES. And the next thing they knew, they were laying in each other's arms, panting heavily after the intimate love making they had. Their sweaty bodies touched and they slept happily.

After a couple of days, Sara located her brother in San Francisco before she and Gil went to see him and tell him that she was engaged. Once Sara and Jeremy laid eyes on each other at Jeremy's doorstep, each pulled the other into a tight embrace as they both cried from joy. Jeremy had his own family, now. A wonderful wife, that got along with Sara the moment she saw her, and a set of cutely handful twin boys. Jeremy was thrilled to hear that his baby sister was engaged to Gil. He knew Gil was a good man. And when Jeremy knew that Sara and Gil were living in Las Vegas, considering it Home, he decided to move, along with his family, to Vegas as well to be close to his Brownie.

Three months later:

It was Gil and Sara's wedding day. All their family and friends attended. The church was full of happy people, wishing them a great life together. Including Betty. She was happy for her son and Sara. She knew that Sara would make a wonderful wife that would always please her son. Gil and Sara were the happiest two people on earth that day. They both knew that it was the beginning of a happy journey that they will pass together.

Two years later:

Gil sat on the backyard's deck stairs, holding their new born Betty in his arms while watching their handful one year old, Victor, chasing bugs. Gil chuckled at his son's actions as he tried to catch a flying butterfly. After a few minutes, Sara came and joined her husband, sitting beside him on the deck stairs.

Gil turned to face his wife. "I thought you were going to nap. Do you need anything, darling?"

She shook her head. "I have all that I'll ever need." she replied softly, smiling at him before resting her head on his shoulder.

He smiled back at her and closed his eyes as he silently thanked God for the wonderful family he had.

**A/N:** Wow, I can't believe I really ended my very first fiction. Truth be told, I'm quite proud of myself. I do know that this chapter is short, but at least it has a happy ending. And a huge thanks for the support I got from your reviews, guys. If it wasn't for it, I don't think I would've been able to find the inspiration and finish the story. I love you all, and let me know if you enjoyed the epilogue, which I pray you do :)


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